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Judge: Ex-Penn State officials will stand trial

Pioneer Press

Posted:
07/30/2013 12:01:00 AM CDT

Updated:
07/30/2013 07:27:20 PM CDT

Nation & World briefing

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Penn State's ex-president and two former top school administrators were ordered Tuesday to stand trial on charges accusing them of a cover-up in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

Prosecutors showed enough evidence during a two-day preliminary hearing to warrant a trial for ex-President Graham Spanier, former vice president Gary Schultz and ex-athletics director Tim Curley, District Judge William Wenner concluded.

Wenner called it "a tragic day for Penn State University."

The men engaged in a "conspiracy of silence," the lead state prosecutor, Bruce Beemer, said during his closing argument. They covered up their failure to tell police about a 2001 allegation that Sandusky was molesting a boy in a university locker room shower, even after they were aware that police investigated complaints about Sandusky showering with boys in 1998, Beemer said.

EPA chief to fight on global warming

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's top environmental official wasted no time Tuesday in taking on opponents of the administration's plan to crack down on global warming pollution.

In her first speech as the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy told an audience gathered at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass., that curbing climate-altering pollution is expected to spark business innovation, create jobs and strengthen the economy.

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McCarthy signaled Tuesday that she was ready for a fight over the contentious issue, insisting that her agency would continue issuing new rules.

"Can we stop talking about environmental regulations killing jobs? Please, at least for today," said McCarthy, referring to a talking point of Republicans and industry groups.

"Let's talk about this as an opportunity of a lifetime, because there are too many lifetimes at stake," she said of efforts to address global warming.

Senate approves nominees for NLRB

WASHINGTON -- The Senate has voted to fill all five seats on the National Labor Relations Board. And it's getting ready to consider President Barack Obama's picks for top diplomatic and law enforcement posts as senators whittle down a pile of stalled nominations.

Senators used a near party-line vote Tuesday to confirm Democrat Kent Hirozawa to the NLRB, which helps resolve labor disputes. It then approved four more NLRB nominees, two Democrats and two Republicans.

Tuesday's votes covered the last of the seven nominees that were part of a bipartisan deal earlier this month in which some Republicans agreed to end stalling tactics.

Pakistan chooses new president

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan -- Pakistani lawmakers elected a textiles magnate Tuesday to be the next president of a country plagued by Islamic extremism, only hours after Taliban militants launched a mass prison break freeing hundreds of inmates.

The attack highlighted one of the major challenges that Mamnoon Hussain will face once he takes over the largely ceremonial post of president. Security forces appeared totally unprepared for the raid in the northwest, despite senior prison officials having received intelligence indicating an attack was likely.

It was one of the worst Taliban attacks in recent months and raises serious questions about the state's capacity to battle a domestic insurgency that has raged for years.

Court rejects limits on sugary drink size

NEW YORK -- New York City's crackdown on big, sugary sodas is staying on ice.

A mid-level state appeals court ruled Tuesday that the city's Board of Health exceeded its legal authority when it voted last year to put a 16-ounce size limit on high-calorie soft drinks served in restaurants, theaters, stadiums, sidewalk food carts and many other places.

In a unanimous opinion, a four-judge panel of the state Supreme Court Appellate Division said that while the board has the power to ban "inherently harmful" foodstuffs from being served to the public, sweetened beverages don't fall into that category. Soda is not necessarily harmful when done in moderation, the court wrote, and "cannot be classified as a health hazard per se."

BOSTON -- She's yet to say whether she'll run, but a group working to support Hillary Rodham Clinton's prospective presidential bid raised more than $1 million in June alone.

The Ready for Hillary super PAC has accepted donations exceeding $1.25 million since beginning to raise money in earnest this spring, an official with the group confirmed Tuesday. The figure includes more than $1 million last month as the operation begins to ramp up.

City wants Filner to pay lawsuit costs

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to sue Mayor Bob Filner over any costs the city must pay from a sex harassment lawsuit filed by his former communications director, dealing another setback to the leader of the nation's eighth-largest city amid mounting calls that he resign.

The council voted unanimously to ask that a court require the mayor to pay the city for any damages and attorney fees if the city is found liable.

"This is part of due process," said City Attorney Jan Goldsmith. "If Bob Filner engaged in unlawful conduct, ... he will have to reimburse us."

Pa. acts against gay marriage licenses

PHILADELPHIA -- State officials asked a court to stop a rogue county from issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on Tuesday, nearly a week after a clerk began granting them in violation of Pennsylvania law.

The petition filed by the Health Department alleges that D. Bruce Hanes, the register of wills in Montgomery County, "repeatedly and continuously" flouted the law. As of Tuesday afternoon, Hanes' office had granted 34 licenses and registered six same-sex marriages.

"There is no limit to the legal chaos likely to flow from the clerk's unlawful practice of issuing marriage licenses to those who are not permitted under Pennsylvania law to marry," the lawsuit said.

Pennsylvania is the only northeastern state without same-sex marriages or civil unions.

-- Associated Press

Woman had green paint at cathedral

WASHINGTON -- Prosecutors say a tourist charged with defacing the Washington National Cathedral was carrying a soda can of green paint when she was arrested.

A woman identified by police as Jiamei Tian appeared in D.C. Superior court Tuesday alongside a Mandarin translator. A court document lists her name as Jia M. Tian.

Prosecutors say the 58-year-old woman arrived in Washington a few days ago and was traveling on an expired visa. Police say she had no fixed address.

She was arrested Monday at the cathedral. The cathedral's defacing followed two similar acts, including at the Lincoln Memorial, where paint was discovered Friday morning.